Medical Treatment

After an organic cause has been ruled out, there is no medical urgency to treat the child. Bedwetting tends to go away by itself. Discuss the treatment options with your child's health-care provider; together you can decide whether treatment is right for your child.

Several drug therapies are available.

These are typically reserved for children who have not stayed dry by using the alarms.

Adults with bedwetting often take medications. They may have to stay on the medication indefinitely.

The drugs do not work for everyone, and they can have significant side effects.

The two drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically for bedwetting are desmopressin (DDAVP) and imipramine (Tofranil). Others, which are not specifically approved for bedwetting, are oxybutynin (Ditropan, Urotrol) and hyoscyamine (Cystospaz, Levsin, Anaspaz).

Medical opinion is divided on using drugs to treat bedwetting. Many believe that, since the child will outgrow the bedwetting anyway, the risks outweigh the benefits of taking the drugs.